How do you choose what to read next?

[PritiPatelsMaker]

I've had a few years of reading mainly good books but this year I've started about 4 that I just couldn't get into.

Don't know if I've been selecting books differently or it's a case of the peri-menopause making me have less patience.

So how does everyone else select what they'd like to read next?

Go to the library lots and read a few pages before taking out, Facebook gives some recommendations, look at the reviews online, read authors I've read before, look for BBC book club stickers on the covers. That's what I do but it's obviously subjective as to whether I read good books!

I’m sat in a house crammed with books with a kindle full and can’t chose what’s next OP so I understand.

It’s not that I can’t select books I want to read, I can. Plenty of them! I just can’t decide which one’s next. I also wonder if peri menopause is responsible. When I finally settle on a book I read it and I do read a fair amount.

But bloody hell. I wish I could chose what to read at the moment.

If I'm choosing from my bookshelves and I can't pick, I send one of the kids in and tell them to just pick me one - so far that's had a pretty good success rate!

I listen to a lot of 'bookish' podcasts, follow people on YouTube and Twitter etc so I get a lot of recommendations that way.

But my absolute favourite thing to do is just wander round a bookshop or library and see what calls out to me. It's a very random process, I can't describe it very well or pinpoint what makes me pick up half the books, but I enjoy it and it's my favourite way to fill my shelves ☺️

I download kindle samples of books I think I might want to read. When I want something new I go through them and look for something that grabs me.

It’s not that I can’t select books I want to read, I can. Plenty of them! I just can’t decide which one’s next. I also wonder if peri menopause is responsible. When I finally settle on a book I read it and I do read a fair amount.

I really do think that's the culprit. I doubt my choices and then get impatient if the book has slow bits.

On kindle it’s easy to download books for 99p. I either through my downloaded books, or see what’s on offer that day. Plus I read my bookclub choice,.

It depends where I'm going to be reading it. A couple of nights away for work = a Crawdad's size paperback. A day return on a train = an Alan Bennett Uncommon Reader size or short stories. Holiday = 2 or 3 bought especially and 1 that's been lingering. At home = meaty hardback fiction or thought provoking non fiction.

Quite often by looking on here.

I log on Goodreads - there are often lists that say 'because you read X you might like these'.
On here.
By browsing through charity shops or the library.

I also have far less patience than I used to and have had a lot of false starts recently.

I love this! Makes complete sense.

My approach only becomes a problem when I find myself balancing a book in each hand to decide which one to take with me!

Strongly recommend The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex from one of my most recent working away reads, but only because I was staying in a busy hotel.

I have so many books on the tbr pile mostly thanks to mumsnet! As for which order, I try to vary it e.g non-fiction/foreign language/historical/classic etc I don't like to read two similar books in a row. Sometimes I read a book set in our holiday destination.

Thank you for all of the suggestions. So far I've looked at the Kimdle Daily Deals and bought Of Mice and Men, which will be a reread but couldn't resist and Riccardino by Andrea Camilleri.

Can't imagine either of those will be stinkers.

Currently I'm reading How to Kill Your Family which is making me want to grab a pencil and rewrite huge sections.

I also recently went through a phase of finding books rubbish and having to stop reading. Luckily it was just a horrible glitch. I tend to rotate between children's fantasy/magical novels, then something I know I will love, because of the genre or author and then to save money, an Amazon prime free book, or kindle 99p book (I had my kindle for years before I realised you could get cheap books!)

Some of the cheap ones are terrible, but some have been so good and have reeled me in to paying full price for the next instalment.

I find I struggle for time since I've had kids, but I started reading using one of those apps (I went for GoodNovel: https://novel.link/share/t.html?p=rlOUkZeNcc_a) and it's helped me get back into it. Some of the stories are admittedly not well written, but if you're picky about which ones you go for there are quite a few that are pretty good. It works on a points basis so it's free and you can build up points through just logging in or watching adverts.

Our local Waterstones have an ‘Our Favourites’ table- I’ve loved 90% of the books I’ve bought from there so I’ve given up buying anything else. The local independent bookshop has something similar in that the bookshelves outlined in green tape contain his favourite books! he is happy to chat and make recommendations based on previous reads so I find that’s pretty reliable .

I don't know about the "next" part, but I have a long, long list and a folder of clippings of what I want to read.
I keep being puzzled by people asking strangers online. Occasionally I'll make a point of reading something by an author I already like, but mostly I make a note for myself either of new reviews, or, even better, catch up on great books from at least a half-century ago.

I read on Kobo & Kindle unlimited, I have a wishlist which I add books to of my favourite authors as soon as I finish the previous one, my list has books coming ourt as far as May next year. I have over 300 books on Kobo.